


A Night on the Train

by chinchillasinunison



Category: American (US) Actor RPF
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Ficlet, Fluff, Gen, Insomnia, Kid Fic, One Shot, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 17:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16917090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chinchillasinunison/pseuds/chinchillasinunison
Summary: Leo Marx wakes up to the boxcar door open, and his younger brother reading in the moonlight, and he's not too pleased about it.Originally posted on Tumblr on March 13th, 2016.





	A Night on the Train

The moon’s pale rays shone even as his eyes were closed. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be too bothersome, but the contrast between the pure darkness he and his brothers fell asleep in and the moonlight that bathed him now was too great. Leo’s eyes shot open. The first thing he saw was the car’s door wide open, light from outside pouring onto the floor. Then Leo noticed a small figure silhouetted in moonbeams laying, belly-side down, staring at something on the floor intently. It was an open book.

“Julie?” Leo questioned, standing up and walking toward the shadow. It did not look up, for it was engrossed in a world made out of words where, as some would say, it felt at home. This was enough to confirm Leo’s assumption.

“What’re ya doin’ up in the middle of the night?”

Julius, better known to friends and family as Julie (and another nickname he would earn later in his life), did not respond. Leo, not well known for his patience, snatched the book up off the boxcar floor.

“Hey! Gimme that back!”

“Why ya leavin’ the door open in the middle of the night?”

“To read. It’s not good for your eyes to read in the dark. What, do you want me to have to wear glasses?” He put a hand to his forehead and let out a melodramatic sigh, “Can you imagine it? Little old me, in glasses, all because of you? You wouldn’t want that, would you? Of course not! So why don’t you just lie back down and let me read in peace?”

Leo saw what Julie was trying to do. Julius was a person who lived in language and often used it to manipulate others to his way of thinking.

“Oh no, no, no, mista. You tell me why you’re up in the middle of the night, or else I’ll just have to wake Ma up. And trust me when I say, she won’t be happy.”

Julie virtually became a statue at the thought. He was a boy who practically worshipped his mother, but he feared her all the same.

“You-you wouldn’t dare…”

“Try me.”

Julie sighed. “I couldn’t sleep,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I just couldn’t. Simple as that.”

Leo gave the book back, not satisfied with that answer but not wanting to start a fight that could wake their siblings or their mother. Especially not their mother. Julie sat back down, his legs crossed, and the book’s spine cracked open. Leo plopped down next to his younger brother, his legs dangling out the boxcar door. He glanced over to Julie, as he again left their world behind to pursue the realm bound within the pages. Such a level of investment was a foreign concept to Leo, for he was one of those wayward souls that grew bored quickly if there were no stakes. He was a gambler, a risk taker, and to him, pages and pages of stories looked like just a large collection of letters. His fingers rapped on the flooring as the locomotive chugged onward. He was one who constantly needed to occupy his hands. Julie shot a disapproving glare at his eldest brother and his incessant tapping that dared to disturb his concentration.

“Shouldn’t you be going back to sleep?”

“Shouldn’t you?”

Julius thought that over, “Touché.”

After a moment or two of quiet, Leo reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of playing cards; his bread and butter.

“So, ya wanna play? It’s gonna be a long night, and I don’t think either of us’ll be going to sleep anytime soon.”

Julie put his book down.

“Sounds good to me."

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic I originally wrote for a high school creative writing class, I think back in 2014/2015??? I was really proud of it back in the day, and I still think it's cute, even though it's really short. It was inspired by this lovely piece of Marx Brothers fanart: https://www.deviantart.com/deisi/art/Another-Day-Another-Train-201078701


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